Device for receiving signals from sensors associated with vehicles components, particularly tires, and system comprising the same

ABSTRACT

A device includes: a wireless receiver unit adapted to receive signals from at least one sensor mounted on a vehicle, wherein the signals received from the at least one sensor carry data related to operating parameters of at least one vehicle&#39;s component, detected by the at least one sensor; an interface adapted to the coupling of the device to a peripherals connection port of a vehicle&#39;s data processing system integrated in the vehicle, the peripherals connection port being accessible to users within the vehicle&#39;s cabin for the connection of peripheral type electronic devices. The device, when coupled to the peripherals connection port of the vehicle&#39;s data processing system, is operable to transfer thereto the data related to vehicle&#39;s operating parameters detected by the at least one sensor and to enable the vehicle&#39;s data processing system to process the transferred data for the interpretation of the operating parameters.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of automotive, andparticularly to electronic systems for monitoring the operatingconditions of various types of vehicles' components, in particular ofvehicles' tires, generally known as Tire Monitoring Systems (TMSs), suchas for example systems for monitoring the tires' pressure (Tire PressureMonitoring Systems or TPMSs). More specifically, the present inventionrelates to a device for receiving signals from sensors associated with avehicle's components, and to a system comprising such device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

In the automotive field, systems for monitoring the operating conditionsof various types of vehicles' components are known.

In particular, systems for monitoring the operating conditions ofvehicles' tires (TMSs), like TPMSs which allow monitoring the pressureof the vehicles' tires, are expected to gain popularity, because theycontribute to increasing the active and passive safety.

TPMSs are electronic systems designed to monitor the operatingconditions, particularly the pressure and other operating parameters ofvehicles' tires.

Generally, a TPMS comprises one or more sensor units, intended to beoperatively associated with one or more tires of a vehicle (being forexample placed within the tire, or on the inflating valve thereof),which are adapted to measure tire operating parameters, basically thetire pressure; some sensors may also be adapted to measure the tire'stemperature, and more sophisticated TMSs exploit sensors units capableof measuring other parameters, like the number of revolutions of thetire, the vertical load, the actual friction, etc.

The sensor units transmit, typically by means of wireless RadioFrequency (RF) transmission, data relating to the measured tireparameters values to a receiver unit, intended to be placed inside thevehicle cabin. The receiver unit is capable of receiving the datatransmitted by the sensor units, and of processing the received data to,e.g., display relevant indications to the vehicle's driver, andparticularly to issue alarms when, for example, the pressure or thetemperature of one or more tires is out of a predetermined safety range.

WO 2005/116603 discloses a universal receiver (OTR) device whichfunctions within a vehicle in the ‘under-the-hood’ (UTH) environmentsuch that various types of tire pressure management system (TPMS)device, located within, upon or near a vehicle's tires can transmit tireinformation, such as the transmitter identification number (TIN), thetire unique identifier (TUID), the vehicle identification number (VIN),tire pressure, tire temperature, tire rotation, and other tire relevantdata, to the OTR for further processing regardless of frequency, datatransfer speed, or data format of the TPMS device. The OTR device insequence: identifies the TPMS device, receives the tire information fromthe TPMS device, and processes the tire information into date recordsfor efficient and optimized transmission of such data records for futureanalysis both within and off a vehicle. The OTR also interfaces withvarious types of telematics devices, regardless of the type oftransmission or protocol used, by identifying the type of telematicsdevice. The OTR also stores or retrieves information related to varioustelematics and TPMS devices in order to identify these devices. Forexample, an automotive manufacturer, dealership, or tire distributorwould be able to select various manufacturers' TPMS and telematicsdevices for installation within the vehicle and with the OTR collectpreviously captured TPMS data for further analysis.

In US 2006/087419 a tire safety monitoring GPS display device isdisclosed that includes a contact surface of a sensor joined to a tiresteel ring by means of a circular fitting fixing agent, and the sensoris fixed onto the tire steel ring hereof. When the sensor circuitinterior of the sensor detects internal status of a tire, thetransmitting circuit transmits data to an aerial, and further transmitsto a main receiver, whereupon status regarding interior of the tire isdisplayed on a screen of the main receiver. If an anomaly occurs, acommunications module transmits a signal to the GPS receiver, at whichtime displaying on a monitor a car repair workshop at a closest distancefrom vehicle. Furthermore, if unusual movement in position of thevehicle occurs, the sensor transmits data to the GPS receiver therebynotifying location of the vehicle to a mobile communications device usedby a user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Applicant observed that the commercial success of TMSs, and moregenerally monitoring systems of any kind of vehicles' components, thatare sold as after-market vehicles'accessories, to be mounted on vehiclesthat do not include these monitoring systems as a part of the standardoriginal vehicles' equipment, and/or are not integrated in the vehicleat the manufacturing stage, is significantly undermined by problemsrelated to the monitoring systems installation.

Mounting an after-market vehicles' component monitoring system on avehicle may be complicated, and generally poses problems.

In particular, the receiver unit of a TMS needs to be connected to apower supply line of the vehicle's electric system. Although taking thepower supply from the cigarette-lighter socket, or from a power outletgenerally provided for in the vehicle's cabin, may seem astraightforward solution, it is not satisfactory, because in this waythese accessories could not be used for other purposes. Thus, it isalmost always necessary to manipulate the vehicle's electric system.This operation is often not easy, so that the installation of the TMShas to be entrusted to technically-qualified people. However, even inthis case problems may arise from the viewpoint of the warranty offeredby the manufacturer on the vehicle, which may condition the persistenceof the warranty to the fact that any intervention on the vehicle isentrusted to affiliate service centers.

Also, an after-market TMS receiver unit is necessarily designed as astand-alone unit, with all the information processing resources andman/machine interfaces (audio/visual indicators, display devices,buttons or keyboards) necessary for its operation; indeed, it ispractically impossible to take advantage of the already existingvehicle's equipment (normally available on the vehicle's dashboard),because the receiver unit cannot interface with any existing vehicle'sinstruments.

Difficulties often arise also in connection with the placement of thereceiver unit within the vehicle, e.g. on the dashboard; problems ofavailable space limit the number of possible locations for the receiverunit placement, and the final result is generally scarcely satisfactoryeven from the aesthetic viewpoint, because the receiver unit isperceived by people as a “foreign body” not integrated with the rest ofthe vehicle's equipment.

The Applicant has tackled the problem of providing a vehicles'components monitoring system, particularly but not limitatively a TMSthat, even if sold as an after-market accessory to be installed onalready circulating vehicles, is less affected by the problems outlinedin the foregoing.

The Applicant has observed that modern vehicles are often provided withstandard interfaces that allow an easy and reliable connectivity ofvarious kinds of peripheral consumer electronics devices (like forexample mobile phones, MP3 players, GPS navigation tools, USB storagedevices—“pen drives”) with a vehicle's data processing system, havinginput/output interfaces, which is embedded in the vehicle at themanufacturing stage and interacts with man/machine interfaces like adisplay, buttons, the loudspeakers of the vehicle's Hi-Fi radio-CDsystem. The vehicle's data processing system is capable of acting as ahost for such peripheral devices when the latter are connected theretothrough the standard interfaces; for example, the vehicle's display maybe used by an external navigation tool to display the navigationinformation to the driver, or an MP3 player may exploit the vehiclestereo system to play music or MP3 audio files may be downloaded fromthe MP3 player to the vehicle's data processing system for being playeddirectly by the vehicle's Hi-Fi system.

The Applicant has found that the data processing system embedded in avehicle by the vehicle manufacturer, thanks to the capability it offersof interfacing to peripheral devices through standard interfaces, can beexploited as a host data processing system for a vehicles' componentsmonitoring system, like a TMS or a TPMS, so as to performcomputing-intensive functions like processing the data transmitted bythe sensors associated with the vehicle's components, for example tires'sensors, and the audio/visual display devices already integrated in thevehicle's accessory equipment can be advantageously exploited fordisplaying relevant indications about the vehicle's components operatingconditions to the vehicle's driver.

The Applicant has also found that a standard interface made available bya vehicle's data processing system could be advantageously exploited forconnecting a wireless receiver being able of performing substantiallyonly the reception of the signals coming from the sensors of themonitoring system, leaving complex calculations and/or displayingfunctions to the vehicle's data processing system.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a device is providedcomprising:

-   -   a wireless receiver unit adapted to receive signals from at        least one sensor mounted on a vehicle, wherein the signals        received from the at least one sensor carry data related to        operating parameters of at least one vehicle's component,        detected by the at least one sensor;    -   an interface adapted to the coupling of the device to a        peripherals connection port of a vehicle's data processing        system integrated in the vehicle, said peripherals connection        port being accessible to users within the vehicle's cab for the        connection of peripheral type electronic devices;

and wherein the device, when coupled to the peripherals connection portof the vehicle's data processing system, is operable to transfer theretothe data related to vehicle's operating parameters detected by the atleast one sensor and to enable the vehicle's data processing system toprocessing the transferred data for the interpretation of the operatingparameters.

Preferably, the device may comprise a power supply unit adapted toexploit a power supply provided by the vehicle's data processing systemthrough said connection port thereof for generating a power supply forthe operation of the device. This allows avoiding complex connections tothe vehicle's electric system.

The device may comprise a repository of at least one software packageadapted to be installed on and executed by the vehicle's data processingsystem for said processing of the data related to vehicle's operatingparameters detected by the at least one sensor, and the device may beadapted to upload said at least one software package to the vehicle'sdata processing system when coupled to the peripheral's connection portthereof. A facilitated and user-friendly procedure can thus be used forenabling the vehicle's data processing system to perform the processingof data detected by the sensors.

Said repository may be adapted to store a library of software packagesadapted to be installed on and executed by the vehicle's data processingsystem for said processing of the data related to vehicle's operatingparameters detected by the at least one sensor, each software package ofsaid library corresponding to a respective type of sensor.

The device may include a processing unit adapted to identify in saidlibrary a software package corresponding to a specific type of sensormounted on the vehicle, and to upload to the vehicle's data processingsystem the identified software package. This simplified procedure alsofacilitates the user.

The device may include a processing unit adapted to download said atleast one software package from a software package storage and to storeit in said repository.

Said software package storage may include a memory card, and the devicemay comprise a memory card connection interface adapted to the pluggingof the memory card wherein said at least one software package to bedownloaded is stored. The memory card could be sold with the at leastone software package already stored therein, or the at least onesoftware package could be downloaded on the memory card from a suitablenetwork connection (e.g. from the Internet).

The processing unit of the device may be adapted to download said atleast one software package from said software package storage byconnection of said interface to a peripheral connection port of thesoftware package storage. This procedure also facilitates the user.

The device may further comprise a connection interface having aperipherals connection port replicating the peripherals connection portof the vehicle's data processing system, and the device, when coupled tothe peripherals connection port of the vehicle's data processing system,may be adapted to operate as a bridge between a peripheral deviceconnected to said connection port of the connection interface and thevehicle's data processing system. This enables a user to connect and useanother peripheral device even in presence of the device of theinvention.

Said interface may include a USB interface or a Firewire interfaceadapted to the coupling of the device to a USB port or a Firewire portof the vehicle's data processing system.

Said at least one sensor may in particular include a tire's operatingparameters sensor associated with at least one of the vehicle's tires.Said data related to vehicle's operating parameters detected by the atleast one sensor may include one or more among a tire's inflatingpressure, a tire's temperature, a tire's number of revolutions, a tire'sfriction coefficient, exerted forces at a tire-road interface, a tire'scontact patch area length, a tire's slip angle, tire's aquaplaningconditions, road conditions and tire's tread band wear.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a vehicle'scomponents operating conditions monitoring system is providedcomprising:

-   -   at least one sensor unit adapted to be associated with a        vehicle's component, the at least one sensor unit comprising at        least one sensor adapted to detect vehicle's component operating        parameters, and a wireless transmitter adapted to wirelessly        transmit signals carrying data related to the vehicle's        component operating parameters detected by the at least one        sensor;    -   a wireless receiver unit according to the first aspect of the        invention adapted to receive said signals from the at least one        sensor unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and further features and advantages of the present invention willbe best understood by reading the following detailed description of someembodiments thereof, provided merely by way of non-limitative example,description that will be conducted making reference to the annexeddrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 schematically shows an overview of a TMS according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 schematically shows, in terms of functional blocks, the maincomponents of a receiver unit of the TMS of FIG. 1, according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a simplified action flow showing the operation of the receiverunit according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 pictorially shows a possible set-up for the downloading ofsoftware packages to the receiver unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Making reference to FIG. 1, an overview of a TMS, particularly a TPMSaccording to an embodiment of the present invention is pictoriallyshown. The TPMS is intended to be mounted on a vehicle, like for examplea car, and includes one or more sensor units, for example four sensorunits 105-1, 105-2, 105-3 and 105-4, each one adapted to be operativelyassociated with a respective vehicle tire 110. The sensor units 105-1,105-2, 105-3 and 105-4 may include sensors adapted to measure one ormore tire operating parameters, like for example one or more parametersamong the tire pressure, the tire temperature, the number of revolutionsof the tire, the tire friction coefficient, exerted forces at tire-roadinterface, contact patch area length, slip angle, aquaplaning status,road conditions (e.g. dry, wet, presence of ice, presence of snow, etc.)and tire's tread band wear. The sensor units 105-1, 105-2, 105-3 and105-4 may for example be adapted to be placed inside a tire, or to becoupled to the tire inflating valve or the cap thereof or they may evenbe embedded in the tire material.

It is pointed out that the number of sensor units, and their nature,particularly the type and number of operating parameters that thesensors are capable of measuring, are not limitative for the presentinvention.

Each sensor unit 105-1, 105-2, 105-3 and 105-4 includes a wirelesstransmitter, particularly an RF transmitter, adapted to wirelesslytransmit signals containing data related to the values of the tireoperating parameters measured by the respective sensor(s). For example,the sensor units may transmit at 433 MHz, which is one of the standardfrequencies assigned to transmissions for Industrial, Scientific andMedical (ISM) purposes by Short-Range Devices (SRD) like TPMSs. Thesensor units 105-1, 105-2, 105-3 and 105-4 may also include a wirelessRF receiver (i.e., they include an RF transceiver), for wirelesslyreceiving signals carrying data useful for the sensor units' settingsand configuration parameters.

Among the data carried by the signals that the generic sensor unit maytransmit there may also be a unique identifier code of the tire, and/oran indication of which of the vehicle's tires the transmitted datarelate to (a functionality referred to as “auto-location”).

The detailed structure of the generic sensor unit 105-1, 105-2, 105-3and 105-4 is not shown nor will be described in further detail, beingper se known and not essential for the understanding of, nor limitativefor the present invention.

The TPMS comprises a receiver unit 115 according to an embodiment of theinvention, comprising a wireless receiver 120, particularly an RFreceiver, adapted to receive the signals transmitted by the sensor units105-1, 105-2, 105-3 and 105-4. The wireless receiver 120 may be awireless transceiver, and be adapted to transmit to the sensor units105-1, 105-2, 105-3 and 105-4 signals the data useful for the sensorunits' settings and configuration parameters.

The detailed structure of the receiver unit 115 according to anembodiment of the present invention will be described subsequently; thereceiver unit 115 comprises at least limited data processing resources,and has a standard-type connector 125 adapted to enable the (removable)connection of the receiver unit 115 to a standard-type connection socket130 provided for in the vehicle's accessory equipment, for examplelocated on the vehicle's dashboard 135, for the connection of consumerelectronic peripheral devices.

As mentioned before, modern vehicles are now often provided withstandard interfaces that allow an easy and reliable connectivity ofvarious kinds of consumer electronics peripheral devices (like forexample mobile phones, MP3 players, GPS navigation tools, USB storagedevices—“pen drives”) with a vehicle's data processing system 140, whichis embedded in the vehicle at the manufacturing stage and interacts withman/machine interfaces like a display device 145, buttons, theloudspeakers of the vehicle's stereo radio-CD system. The vehicle's dataprocessing system 140 acts as a host for such peripheral devices whenthe latter are connected thereto through the standard interfaces; forexample, the vehicle's display 145 may be used by an external navigationtool to display the navigation information to the driver, or an MP3player may exploit the vehicle stereo system to play music or MP3 audiofiles may be downloaded from the MP3 player to the vehicle's dataprocessing system 140 for being played directly by the vehicle's stereosystem.

These kinds of vehicle's data processing systems are often based onstandard, open operating systems, like for example Microsoft's WindowsMobile for Automotive, which allow the installation and execution ofsoftware applications for specific, custom purposes, just like a normalpersonal computer.

The connector 125 of the receiver unit 115 may in particular be a USB(Universal Serial Bus) connector, preferably (albeit not limitatively) aUSB-2.0 connector, adapted to connected to a corresponding USBconnection socket 130 on the vehicle's dashboard 135.

An advantage of the USB is that a USB host may supply power to a USBperipheral device, which thus does not need to have an autonomous powersource. In particular, using a USB connection, the receiver unit 115 mayreceive the power necessary for its operation from the vehicle's dataprocessing system 140, without the necessity of equipping the receiverunit 115 with an internal battery, nor of connecting the receiver unit115 to the vehicle's power supply (vehicle's battery). Other types ofstandard connections suitable to supply power to a peripheral deviceexist, such as for example the Firewire interface (defined in the IEEEstandardization documents 1394 and 1394b)

However, it is pointed out that although the use of a standardconnection capable of supplying power to a peripheral device attachedthereto may be regarded as preferential, it is not to be intended aslimitative to the present invention, which may in general be practicedexploiting any kind of standard connection known or available now or inthe future that will be provided on the vehicles, either wired orwireless, either capable of supplying power to peripheral devices ornot.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a more detailed scheme of a receiving unit 115according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, in termsof some of its functional blocks.

The receiving unit 115 comprises, within a casing 200, an RF section,schematically depicted as a block 205, which includes the wirelessreceiver or transceiver 120 shown in FIG. 1. In particular, the RFsection 205 is intended to include a front-end for the coupling to anantenna 210, an RF receiver or transceiver, filters, adapters,demodulators, impedance-matching circuits and in general all the circuitelements necessary for wirelessly communication at radio frequency withthe transmitters of the sensor units 105-1, 105-2, 105-3 and 105-4. Theantenna 210 is for example an integrated, miniaturized, wide-bandantenna, adapted to receive RF signals in a relatively wide frequencyrange, for example from a few hundreds of MHz to some GHz, so as toallow the reception from sensor units of different type and/or producedby different manufacturers.

The RF section 205 is connected to an input of a Central Processing Unit(CPU) 215; the connection of the RF section 205 to the CPU 215 may bemediated by an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) 220, adapted to convertanalog data (for example, measures of tire pressure and/or temperaturevalues) received from the sensor units 105-1, 105-2, 105-3 and 105-4into digital form; alternatively, the RF section 205 may be connected toan ADC input of the CPU 215. One or more buffers 225 may be provided totemporarily store the data received from the sensor units 105-1, 105-2,105-3 and 105-4 waiting to be provided to the CPU; this may be useful incase the rate at which the data are received from the sensor unitsexceeds the rate at which the CPU 215 can handle the received data.

For its operation, the CPU 215 exploits memory resources, including inparticular volatile (Read Only Memory—RAM) and non-volatile memoryresources. The non-volatile memory resources may in particular include anon-volatile program memory (internal memory) 230, preferably ofprogrammable type, for storing data like a firmware of the receiver unit115, and a non-volatile data memory 235, for example a Flash memory, anElectrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only memory (EEPROM) for thestorage of the proprietary software protocol necessary to interpret datatransmitted from the sensors, as described in greater detail later on.

The CPU 215 is also connected, over a communication bus 240, to a USBcontroller 245, controlling the exchange of data through the USBconnector 125; the receiver unit 115 preferably includes one or more USBsockets 250, connected to the bus 240 through a further USB controller253, allowing the connection of other USB peripheral devices (not shownin the drawing), e.g., “pen drives”, MP3 music players, etc., to the USBinterface of the vehicle's data processing system 140 also when the USBconnector 125 of the receiving unit 115 is inserted into the vehicle'sUSB socket 130 (in other words, the receiving unit 115 is preferablyalso able to operate as a USB hub or bridge towards the vehicle's dataprocessing unit).

A voltage adapter/regulator 255 is connected to the USB connector 125,particularly to electric terminals thereof which, when the connector 125is plugged into the socket 130, receive the power supply from the USBconnector 125. The USB comprises four bus lines, namely a voltage supplyline, a reference potential or ground voltage line, and a pair ofdifferential-voltage data lines. The USB host device supplies, on thevoltage supply line, a USB voltage of nominally 5 V+/−0.25 V referred tothe ground voltage line. The voltage adapter/regulator 255 receives theUSB voltage and generates (possibly down-scaled, and/or boosted)regulated voltages suitable to supply the circuitry and components ofthe receiver unit 115; a down-scaling of the USB voltage may benecessary when one or more of the integrated circuit components of thereceiver unit 115—like for example the CPU 215, and/or the RF section205—require stabilized voltages of value different from the USB voltage.The regulated voltages are fed to a power management unit 260, which isadapted to manage a power-on reset procedure of the receiver unit 115,when it is powered after being plugged into a USB connector. The powermanagement unit 260 is further adapted to manage power fail situations,when for example the receiver unit 115 is unplugged from a USBconnector.

The receiver unit 115 may further include a user interface 265, for theinteraction with the user; the management interface may comprise one ormore LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) for visually signalling particularconditions, one or more pushbuttons for triggering particularoperations, like for example pushbuttons for causing the receiver unit115 communicate with communications infrastructures present on theroads, like pay-toll gates on highways, as will be described later on,or with other vehicles.

Optionally, the receiver unit 115 may include a memory card interface270, preferably a universal memory card interface, including a universalmemory card socket and adapted to receive different types of memorycards like MMCs (MultiMedia Cards), SD (Secure Digital) cards, CF(CompactFlash) cards, MS (MemoryStick) cards, SM (SmartMedia) cards andthe like. A memory card reader 275 coupled to the memory card interface270 and to the CPU 215 is adapted to allow the interaction between theCPU 215 and a memory card inserted into the memory card interface 270.

Also, the receiver unit 115 may include biometric sensors, like forexample a fingerprint sensor 280, for the detection of user's biometricparameters in order to identify the user.

The RF section may also include wireless communication interfacesdifferent from that necessary for receiving data from the tires' sensorunits, for example an IR (InfraRed) communication interface for theinteraction with a remote control device (not shown in the drawing),and/or a Bluetooth interface, and/or a Wi-Fi and/or WiMax interface, forinteracting with communications infrastructures external to the vehicleand installed on the roads, like for example pay-toll or control gates,or with other vehicles.

In FIG. 2 there is also schematically shown the structure of thevehicle's data processing system 140; essentially, it comprises a CPU285, exploiting memory resources 290 (RAM, ROM) for its operation, andthe CPU 285, through a bus 293, is connected to a USB controller 295associated with the USB socket 130. The CPU 285 is coupled to thevehicle's display 145, and it may also be coupled to the vehicle'sstereo system and/or to other warning systems integrated in the vehicle(not shown in the drawing).

In operation, the data memory 235 of the receiver unit 115 is used tostore software modules to be downloaded to a host data processing systemlike the vehicle's data processing system 140. These software modulesdefine the communication protocol to be used by the host data processingsystem for communicating with the receiver unit 115, and/or theprocedures for processing and interpreting the data provided by thetires' sensor units. In particular, the processing procedures mayinclude safety margins settings for the tires' operating parameters,definition of anomalous conditions, proprietary or standard softwareprotocol and algorithms necessary to interpret the data transmitted bythe tires' sensor units and the like. The processing and/or interpretingprocedures may also be adapted for displaying the detected conditions tothe user on the vehicle's data processing system display.

As schematically shown in the simplified action flow of FIG. 3, once thereceiver unit 115 is connected to the vehicle's data processing system140 by plugging the USB connector 125 in the USB connection socket 130present on the vehicle's dashboard 135, the receiver unit 115 is poweredby the USB voltage supplied via the vehicle's data processing system140; the power management unit 260 detects the presence of the USBvoltage and triggers a Power-On Reset (POR) procedure of the receiverunit 115 (action 305), which thus starts operating.

The CPU 215 causes the software modules stored in the data memory 235 tobe uploaded to the vehicle's data processing system 140 (action 310).This activity may possibly be subjected to, and triggered by, adeliberate command of the user, for example inputted through apushbutton provided in the user interface 265 of the receiver unit 115.The upload of the software modules stored in the data memory 235 to thevehicle's data processing system 140 may be triggered by the user, forexample, by using pushbuttons, provided on the vehicle's dashboard, oron the steering wheel, external to receiver unit 115 (in the same way asin the case of a music file download from an MP3 music player pluggedinto the USB socket 130). As soon as the proper software modules to bedownloaded are identified by the CPU 215 of the receiver unit 115, adata communication link between the CPU 215 and the CPU 285 of thevehicle's data processing system 140 is established. The download of thesoftware modules to the vehicle's data processing system 140 is thenenabled by the user. When, after the receiver unit 115 is plugged in theUSB socket 130, the operating system of the vehicle's data processingsystem 140 may prompt on the vehicle's display 145 a label identifyingthe receiver unit 115 (as in a conventional “plug-and-play” procedure);at that time, the identification of the proper software modules to beuploaded to the vehicle's data processing system 140 is completed, andthe vehicle's data processing system 140 is ready for the softwaredownload and installation.

The USB controller 245 of the receiver unit 115 supervises the processof upload of the software modules to the vehicle's data processingsystem over the USB.

The vehicle's data processing system 140 receives, stores and installsthe downloaded software modules (action 315); the vehicle's dataprocessing system 140 now is ready to communicate with the receiver unit115 using the proper communication protocol, in order to receivetherefrom the raw data that are transmitted by the tires' sensor units,and to process and interpret them.

After this set-up phase, the receiver unit 115 listens for transmissionfrom the tires' sensor units; when a sensor unit transmits informationon sensed parameters, for example in the form of analog signals, thesignals are received by the receiver unit 115 (action 320). Inparticular, the signal are received by the antenna 210 and conveyed tothe RF section 205, which selects the frequency carrier. The RF section205, which includes an RF band-pass pre-filter and a low noiseamplifier, defines the receiver band, amplifies the carrier signal anddown-converts the frequency carrier to an Intermediate Frequency (IF)level (by means of a local oscillator). Having selected the desiredsignal, i.e. the signal from one of the sensor units 105-1, 105-2, 105-3and 105-4, among all the other signals in the air, demodulation isnecessary to separate the information signal from the carrier. Hence,the signal is fed to a demodulator—of any possible kind and technology,for example, albeit not limitatively, Quadrature Mixer technique, PLLdiscriminator, Quadrature Frequency Discriminator, AM (AmplitudeModulation) envelope detector, AM coherent detector, etc.—and theresulting demodulated signal, containing the data related to the tire'soperating parameters measured by the sensor unit, is converted intodigital. The digitally-converted data, possibly buffered in the buffers225, are then transferred to the vehicle's data processing system 140(action 325). It is pointed out that, instead of analog signalmodulation, a digital modulation technique may be employed (e.g.Amplitude Shift Keying—ASK—, Frequency Shift Keying—FSK—, Phase ShiftKeying—PSK—, Differential PSK, M-ary FSK, Quadrature PSK—QPSK—, OffsetQPSK, π/4 QPSK, Quadrature Amplitude Modulation—QAM—, etc.)

The vehicle's data processing system 140 receives the data from thereceiver unit 115 (action 330). The vehicle's data processing system 140then processes the received data (action 335), and, if necessary,displays information to the vehicle driver, e.g. on the vehicle'sdisplay device 135 (action 340). Processing the data received from thereceiver unit 115 may for example involve interpreting the received datato derive tires' pressure and/or temperature values, and/or other tires'operating parameters, displaying the current tires' pressure and/ortemperature values on the vehicle's display device 145, comparing thecurrent tires' pressure and/or temperature values with predeterminedthreshold values, and issuing visual and/or audio alerts to the vehicledriver in case the current values fall outside predetermined safetymargins. The complexity of the data processing may depend on the natureof the tires' operating parameters.

As long as data are received from the receiver unit 115, the vehicle'sdata processing system 140 continues to process them; when no more dataare received, the data processing stops (action 355, exit branch N).

These actions are repeated essentially until the receiver unit 115 iskept plugged into the USB socket 130; when the receiver unit 115 isunplugged from the USB socket 130, the power management unit 260 detectsa power supply failure, and starts a power-down procedure (actions 345,exit branch Y, and 350).

Where provided, visual indicators (LEDs) of the user interface 265 ofthe receiver unit 115 may be exploited to provide visual alerts to thevehicle's driver, in addition or in alternative to the indicationsprovided by the vehicle's data processing system 140 on the vehicle'sdisplay device 145 or through the vehicle's stereo system, like forexample alarms for abnormal operating conditions of the tires, and/orthe absence of a communication link with one or more of the tires'sensor units (which may for example be due to the discharge of thesensor units' battery, or to a failure thereof).

Thanks to the fact that the receiver unit 115 is also capable ofoperating as a USB hub or bridge, while the receiver unit 115 is pluggedinto the vehicle's USB socket 130, the user may plug into the USB socket250 of the receiver unit 115 other USB peripheral devices, like forexample an MP3 reader. The receiver unit's CPU 215, through the USBcontrollers 245 and 253, manages the transparent flow of data from thevehicle's data processing system 140 to the USB peripheral deviceplugged into the USB socket 250. The CPU 215 similarly managescongestion avoidance policies, adapted to avoid possible congestion ofthe bus 240 which is shared for transferring tire sensor units' datafrom the receiver unit 115 to the vehicle's data processing system 140,and for the exchange of data between the vehicle's data processingsystem 140 and the USB peripheral device plugged into the USB socket250.

The receiver unit 115 may store, in the data memory 235, two or moresoftware packages, organized for example in a software repository,specific for different types of sensor units that may be installed onthe vehicle's tires. The receiver unit 115 may for example be adapted toidentify the type of sensor units that are installed on the vehicle'stires, based on the data received therefrom, and to select in thesoftware repository the appropriate software package to be downloaded tothe vehicle's data processing system 140. Another possibility could bethat the vehicle's display 145 prompts to the user a list of thesoftware packages available in the (data memory 235 of the) receiverunit 115: the user, e.g. the vehicle's driver, knowing the sensor unitsmanufacturer name, will select the most appropriate software package (inthe same way as when he/she selects a music file to be downloaded froman MP3 music player plugged into the USB socket 130). It is alsopossible that the receiver unit 115 inquiries the sensor units 105-1,105-2, 105-3 and 105-4 to obtain therefrom an indication of the sensors'type.

The software to be downloaded to the vehicle's data processing system140 may be pre-loaded in the receiver unit 115 by the manufacturer. Thesoftware in the repository (data memory 235) of the receiver unit 115may be upgraded and/or enriched with new software packages bydownloading new software releases, or additional software packages fornew types of sensor units, stored on a memory card, by inserting it intothe memory card interface 270 of the receiver unit 115. As pictoriallyshown in FIG. 4, the software repository of the receiver unit 115 mayalso be upgraded and/or enriched by downloading new software releases,or additional software packages for new types of sensor units, forexample from a PC 405, to which the receiver unit can be connectedthrough a PC USB port. The PC 405 may be connected to a data network410, such as the Internet, and be capable of downloading the softwarepackages for the receiver unit 115 from a server 415, for example of themanufacturer of the TMPS. The upgrade of the software repository of thereceiver unit 115 may be conditioned to a specific command by the user,for example entered through one or more of the pushbuttons of thereceiver unit 115; an interrupt service routine of the receiver unit 115firmware will thus be started by the CPU 215, to accomplish theoperations necessary for the downloading and storing in the data memory235 of the new software. In a similar way, also the firmware of thereceiver unit 115 may be upgraded, downloading an upgraded firmwareversion and storing it into the internal memory 230.

The provision on the receiver unit 115 of input devices like biometricsensors, such as the fingerprint sensor 280, allows the receiver unit115 to retrieve, for example from its internal memory 230, user-relatedsettings (for example, specific settings for the vehicle's driveparameters, related to the preferences or drive habits of the vehicle'shabitual driver or of the vehicle's owner), previously stored in thereceiver unit 115. These user-specific data may as well be transferredto the vehicle's data processing system 140, which can thus adapt itsfunctions (for example, the safety margins for the tires' operatingparameters may be tuned according to the driving style of the driver);moreover it could be envisaged that the vehicle's data processing system140 can cause (by interacting with an active suspension system of thevehicle) the proper, customized set up the vehicle' suspensionsaccording to the driving style of the driver.

Exploiting wireless communication interfaces included in the RF section205, like a Wi-Fi or a Wimax interface, the receiver unit 115 may beable to transmit data related to the tires' conditions, as well as tointeract with communication network infrastructures deployed along theroads, for example the motorways. For example, this functionality may beexploited to communicate to a toll payment system of a motorway managingcompany the number of axes of the vehicle, in order to allow the tollpayment system establish the proper toll. Also, parameters like thecondition of the road (wet, dry, presence of ice or snow, etc.) might becommunicated to other, following vehicles to allow drivers adapt theirdriving conduct in advance.

The receiver unit according to the described invention embodiments doesnot pose problems of installation on the vehicles, because it can berelatively small in size, thanks to the fact that it does not need to beequipped with display devices and man/machine interfaces, apart frompossible LEDs and a few pushbuttons. The receiver unit does not need anyspecific wiring for the connection to the vehicle's electrical system,because it is directly supplied through the USB socket 130.

Thanks to the fact that the tasks that the receiver unit according tothe described invention embodiments has to perform are relativelylimited, it can have limited processing power, and thus its powerconsumption may be relatively low. Thus, the receiver unit may bebattery-operated, through an internal battery, and it may even betotally passive, provided that the standard interface provided on thevehicle is of a type supplying power to peripheral devices connectedthereto.

Exploiting the vehicle's data processing system as a host for performingthe heavier tasks from the processing viewpoint and the visual/audiodisplay devices already integrated in the vehicle allows simplifying thestructure of the receiver unit, reducing its power consumption, andavoids that the impact of the TMPS receiver unit on the aesthetic of thevehicle cabin.

The present invention has been here described considering some possibleembodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art will readily recognizethat several modifications to the described embodiments are possible, aswell as other embodiments, all falling within the scope of the appendedclaims.

For example, although described in connection with tires' sensors, thepresent invention may be more generally applicable to other types ofvehicles' sensors systems, associated with other vehicles' components.

1-13. (canceled)
 14. A device comprising: a wireless receiver unitcapable of being adapted to receive signals from at least one sensormounted on a vehicle, wherein the signals received from the at least onesensor carry data related to operating parameters of at least onevehicle's component detected by the at least one sensor; and aninterface capable of being adapted to coupling of the device to aperipherals connection port of a vehicle's data processing systemintegrated in the vehicle, said peripheral connection port beingaccessible to users within a vehicle's cabin for connection ofperipheral type electronic devices, wherein the device, when coupled tothe peripherals connection port of the vehicle's data processing system,is capable of transferring thereto data related to vehicle's operatingparameters detected by the at least one sensor, and enabling thevehicle's data processing system to process the transferred data for theinterpretation of the operating parameters.
 15. The device of claim 14,comprising a power supply unit capable of being adapted to exploit apower supply provided by the vehicle's data processing system throughsaid peripherals connection port for generating a power supply for theoperation of the device.
 16. The device of claim 14, comprising arepository of at least one software package capable of being adapted tobe installed on and executed by the vehicle's data processing system forprocessing of the data related to the vehicle's operating parametersdetected by the at least one sensor, wherein the device is capable ofbeing adapted to upload said at least one software package to thevehicle's data processing system when coupled to the peripheralsconnection port thereof.
 17. The device of claim 16, wherein saidrepository is capable of being adapted to store a library of softwarepackages capable of being adapted to be installed on and executed by thevehicle's data processing system for said processing of data related tothe vehicle's operating parameters detected by the at least one sensor,each software package of said library corresponding to a respective typeof sensor.
 18. The device of claim 17, comprising a processing unitcapable of being adapted to identify in said library a software packagecorresponding to a specific type of sensor mounted on the vehicle, andto upload to the vehicle's data processing system an identified softwarepackage.
 19. The device of claim 16, comprising a processing unitcapable of being adapted to download said at least one software packagefrom a software storage and to store said software package in saidrepository.
 20. The device of claim 19, wherein said software packagestorage comprises a memory card, and wherein the device comprises amemory card connection interface capable of being adapted to plugging ofthe memory card wherein said at least one software package to bedownloaded is stored.
 21. The device of claim 19, wherein saidprocessing unit is capable of being adapted to download said at leastone software package from said software package storage by connection ofsaid interface to a peripheral connection port of the software packagestorage.
 22. The device of claim 14, further comprising a connectioninterface having a peripherals connection port replicating theperipherals connection port of the vehicle's data processing system,wherein the device, when coupled to the peripherals connection port ofthe vehicle's data processing system, is capable of being adapted tooperate as a bridge between a peripheral device connected to saidconnection port of the connection interface and the vehicle's dataprocessing system.
 23. The device of claim 14, wherein said interfacecomprises a universal serial bus interface or a firewire interfacecapable of being adapted to the coupling of the device to a universalserial bus port or a firewire port of the vehicle's data processingsystem.
 24. The device of claim 14, wherein said at least one sensorcomprises a tire's operating parameters sensor associated with at leastone of a vehicle's tires.
 25. The device of claim 24, wherein said datarelated to a vehicle's operating parameters detected by the at least onesensor comprises one or more of a tire's inflating pressure, a tire'stemperature, a tire's number of revolutions, a tire's frictioncoefficient, exerted forces at a tire-road interface, a tire's contactpatch area length, a tire's slip angle, a tire's aquaplaning conditions,road conditions and a tire's tread band wear.
 26. A vehicle's componentsoperating conditions monitoring system comprising: at least one sensorunit capable of being adapted to associate with a vehicle's component,the at least one sensor unit comprising at least one sensor capable ofbeing adapted to detect a vehicle's component operating parameters, anda wireless transmitter capable of being adapted to wirelessly transmitsignals carrying data related to the vehicle's component operatingparameters detected by the at least one sensor; and a wireless receiverunit capable of being adapted to receive said signals from the at leastone sensor unit, wherein said wireless receiver unit is realized by adevice according to claim 14.